Wilson sees post-election hope for franking credits

One of the mainstays of the campaign opposing the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) move to remove refundable franking credits, fund manager Geoff Wilson, has signalled a continuation of the fight even if Bill Shorten becomes Prime Minister.

In a letter to shareholders, the chairman of Wilson Asset Management said it was still possible the ALP’s franking credit changes would be blocked in the Senate.

“Regardless of which political party wins the upcoming Federal Election, we hope that Labor abandons or dramatically changes this inequitable policy,” he said.

“We believe there is cause for hope. For example, nine of the 10 crossbench Senators have committed to blocking the changes if they reach the Senate in their current form and two have adopted our term for the policy – “retirement tax”.

Wilson said his company’s campaign against the proposal to remove franking credit refunds “had secured the policy’s position as a key election issue and ensured it has attracted the scruinty it deserves”.

Author

Mike Taylor

Mike Taylor is Managing Editor of the financial services publications Money Management and Super Review. He has been a journalist for the past 41 years with a career spanning coverage of financial services, federal and state politics and industrial relations.